Multilane fruit peeling system

ABSTRACT

Four pineapples are contour peeled simultaneously fed from a single file elevator conveyor feed system. To accomplish this, the pineapples are picked up from the elevator conveyor, spaced in groups of four and dropped through sliding trap door onto chutes in a group former. The four pineapples are picked up by the pusher fingers of four parallel feeder conveyors and advanced through centering heads. The feeder conveyors then force the four pineapples onto core pins of four core turrets having oppositely projecting core pins. The core turrets index 180* and shift axially to present the cored pineapples to four peeling turrets on the same axis. The coring is completed on the core turrets after which the cored pineapples are transferred to peeling pins on the core turrets and the crowns of the pineapples are cut off. Each of the four peeling turrets has four peeling pins spaced at 90*. The peeling turrets index in 90* steps and bring pineapples beneath peeling heads above the turrets. The pineapples are pushed through the peeling heads from below for contour peeling after which the pineapples are carried across butt end trimmers for disposition by slicing or other processing stations.

itd States Patent Wadas et al [451 Apr. 18, 1972 [54] MULTILANE FRUIT FEELING SYSTEM [72] Inventors: Leslie Vadas, Los Gatos; Robert W. [57] ABSTRACT Drake, 1 JOSE, both of Calif- Four pineapples are contour peeled simultaneously fed from a single file elevator conveyor feed system. To accomplish this, [73] Asslgnee' Castle & Cooke the pineapples are picked up from the elevator conveyor, [22] Filed: July 13, 1970 spaced in groups of four and dropped through sliding trap door onto chutes in a group former. The four pineapples are [21] Appl' 54528 picked up by the pusher fingers of four parallel feeder conveyors and advanced-through centering heads. The feeder Cl conveyors then force the four pineapples onto core pins of 146/5 46/241 four core turrets having oppositely projecting core pins. [51] Int. Cl ..A23n 3/12, A23n 7/00 o [58] Field of Search ..146/6, 38, 39,43 A, 51,52, The l turrets Index 180 Shlft axially to present the 146/238, 241 cored pineapples to four peeling turrets on the same axis. The coring is completed on the core turrets after which the cored 56] References Cited pineapples are transferred to peeling pins on the core turrets and the crowns of the pineapples are cutoff. UMTED STATES PATENTS Each of the four peeling turrets has four peeling pins spaced at 2,574,761 1 1/1951 Rutherford ..146/39 90. The peeling turrets index in 90 steps and bring pineap- 3.l34.415 1964 Woodward, Jr X pies beneath peeling heads above the turrets. The pineapples 3,163,232 12/1964 S p h et aL X are pushed through the peeling heads from below for contour 8 l 8 De Back peeling after which the pineapples are carried across butt end Loveland X trimmers for disposition licing or other processing tations. Primary Examiner-Willie G. Abercrombie I AnorneyF. W. Anderson and C. E. Tripp Clauns, Drawing Figures DISCHARGE PIN i BUHOCUTTER I20 2 STRIP pen nrep l} FEELING HEAD I I i i siuceg CROWN cur, so CROSS :15 TRANSFER PLATE CONVEYOR- come Twig I i MILL cur s T eeoup FORME? l 1 CENTEREIANS: g BUTT 7 9 O 3 0 TRIMMER L *1 3L :1: 57.

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1. Multilane fruit peeling apparatus comprising a cross conveyor for simultaneously advancing a line of spaced fruit, a plurality of feed conveyors running laterally from said cross conveyor, means for transferring fruit from said cross conveyor to said feed conveyors, a peeling turret for each feed conveyor, a contour peeling head for each peeling turret, a core turret between each feed conveyor and the associated peeling turret and having at least one coring tube, pusher means associated with said feed conveyors for forcing fruit onto the adjacent core turret coring tubes, means for indexing said core turrets, means for transferring fruit from said indexed core turrets to said peeling turrets, means for indexing said peeling turrets, and means for advancing fruit on said peeling turrets through the associated peeling heads.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said feed conveyors run generally parallel and from one side of said cross conveyor, said core turrets and said peeling turrets being respectively mounted to index and shift simultaneously.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising means for rotating said coring tubes.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 arranged for peeling pineapples, said core turrets comprising diametrically opposed coring tubes; said peeling turrets each comprising four slidably mounted and axially spaced peeling pins arranged circumferentially at a 90* index spacing, said peeling heads being above the peeling turrets, means for axially shifting said peeling turrets to bring successive peeling pins of each turret beneath its peeling head as the peeling turrets are indexed, and means for axially shifting each core turret between its feed conveyor and its associated peeling turret; said fruit advancing means comprising a peeling pin pusher below each turret and its peeling head, and means for lifting said pushers for pushing fruit on said peeling pins through the superposed peeling heads.
 5. The apparatus of claim 3, arranged for peeling pineapples, wherein said core turrets comprise oppositely extending coring tubes, said feed conveyor pusher means having a stroke that only partially forces pineapples onto said core turret coring tubes, core completion pushers between said core turrets and said peeling turrets for completing the coring operations, and knives for removing the pineapple crowns after transfer of the pineapples from said core turrets to said peeling turrets.
 6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said means for transferring fruit from the cross conveyor to the feed conveyors comprises a group former for transferring a group of fruit simultaneously.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said group former comprises longitudinally spaced slide plates, trap door plates between said slide plates, said cross conveyor running above said plates and having spaced fruit pushers, and means for simultaneously opening said trap door plates to drop fruit for pick up by said feed conveyors.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, comprising chutes beneath said trap door plates associated with said feed conveyors, and flexible snubbers between said trap door plates and the chutes.
 9. Apparatus for peeling fruit, comprising a peeling turret, a plurality of circumferentially and axially spaced peeling pins along said turret, a peeling head radially spaced from said turret, means for sequentially loading said peeling pins with unpeeled fruit at a position that is axially spaced from said peeling head, means for axially shifting and indexing said peeling turret to position a previously loaded fruit at said peeling head, and means for advancing the peeling pin and fruit thus positioned into said peeling head.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein there are four peeling pins on said turret, said pins being at 0*, 90*, 180* and 270* index positions of the turret.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said peeling head is above the turret and arranged to receive fruit from a vertically disposed peeling pin, said fruit loading means being to one side of the turret and arranged to load a horizontally projecting peeling pin.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said peeling turret pins extend slidably through the turret, and pusher means beneath said turret and aligned with said peeling head for engaging the unloaded end of a peeling pin and pushing the other end into the peeling head.
 13. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said means for loading said peeling pins comprises feed conveyor means running toward said peeling turret, a core turret between said feed conveyor means and said peeling turret, said core turret having oppositely projecting core pins, means for loading each core pin when it points toward said feed conveyor means, means for indexing said core turret 180*, means for shifting said core turret axially of said peeling turret, and means for transferring fruit from said core turret core pins to said peeling turret peeling pins when the core turret has been indexed and shifted.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, comprising means for rotating said core turret coring tubes.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said feed conveyor means is offset from said peeling head by the axial spacing between adjacent peeling turret pins, and said core turret is shifted back and forth by two of said peeling pin spacings.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13, comprising core completion means between said core and peeling turrets for forcing fruit completely onto said core turret pins after the core turret has indexed.
 17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the fruit is pineapple, said core to peeling turret transferring means only partially placing the fruit on each peeling pin, and knife means for trimming the ends of fruits thus placed.
 18. Apparatus for contour peeling pineapples comprising a generally horizontally running feed conveyor, a peeling turret having four axially spaced peeling pins at 90* circumferential spacings, a contour peeling head above said peeling turret, a core turret between said feed conveyor and said peeling turret and having a plurality of coring tubes for receiving pineapples from said feed conveyor, means for axially shifting said peeling turret three times in one direction by one axial peeling pin spacing and once in the opposite direction by three axial peeling pin spacings, means for indexing said peeling turret 90* with each shift thereof, means for axially shifting said core turret back and forth between said feed conveyor and a horizontally disposed peeling pin on said peeling turret, means for indexing said core turret with each shift thereof, means for transferring pineapples from said core turret to said peeling turret, and means for advancing pineapples on said peeling turret through said peelIng head.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said peeling head is offset from said feed conveyor by one peeling pin spacing, said core turret has two diametrically opposed coring tubes, and said core turret is axially shifted back and forth by two peeling pin spacings-three times to one side of the feed conveyor and once to the other side of the feed conveyor.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said peeling pins are slidably mounted in said peeling turret and have pusher extensions, said pineapple advancing means comprising a pusher rod below the turret and peeling head for engaging said pusher extensions.
 21. The method of contour peeling pineapples comprising the steps of feeding pineapples single file along generally parallel lanes, simultaneously coring pineapples from each lane, simultaneously indexing the cored pineapples 180* and axially shifting them as a group, transferring the group of cored pineapples to individual peeling pins, simultaneously indexing the transferred pineapples and axially shifting them as a group to peeling heads, and simultaneously contour peeling the group of transferred pineapples.
 22. The method of contour peeling fruit comprising the steps of continuously supplying the fruit in a single file row, increasing the spacings between the fruits of a group, simultaneously dropping the group of spaced fruit and catching the group, advancing the group of fruit along individual, generally parallel lanes, coring the group of fruit, and simultaneously contour peeling the cored fruits of the group.
 23. The method of simultaneously peeling fruits comprising the steps of advancing a line of fruit single file, forming the fruit into groups, advancing the groups into generally parallel lanes, simultaneously coring the fruits of a group, transferring the group of cored fruit to peeling pins, indexing the transferred fruit, and simultaneously peeling the fruits in each group after indexing.
 24. The method of claim 23, comprising indexing each group of fruit 180* after coring and before transferring the group to peeling pins.
 25. The method of claim 23, wherein the transferred fruit is indexed in 90* steps, and a group of fruit is peeled after each indexing step. 